🏰 Author Interview Featuring Paula Omokhomion, Author of 'Shape of the Sun'

Paula Omokhomion is a Master of Public Policy student at the UC Riverside School of Public Policy, though she’s fairly certain that won’t be forever. She holds a B.S. in Public Health Nutrition from UNC Chapel Hill, where she also minored in Creative Writing (Fiction) and graduated with highest honors for her 120-page thesis novella, New Age Taffeta.

Paula developed her skills and love for writing fiction in a very, very interesting Nigerian boarding school, where the lack of television meant she had to invent entertainment for everyone else. She loves reading manhwa, watching Indian TV dramas, listening to music, and writing short stories.When not doing any of those or in the classroom handling R code, she’s refining her LinkedIn or taking Instagram selfies.
She lives in California with her family, including her two fellow triplets, and is currently dreaming of a future PhD in public health—and maybe another novel.

Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

🏰Welcome to Book Bloggin’ Princess, Paula. I’d like to know more about you  as a person first. When did you start writing? What was your first published  piece? 

Thank you for having me. I started writing when I was about 13, I believe. It was a book I wrote in boarding school, and it had like two dedicated readers. The one after that, Aurora, was really my debut as it had over 100 readers as a draft; it was also my first published piece at 14. 

🏰As a published author, what has been the most pivotal point of your career?

I think it was actually knowing I could write in ways that moved people. So, Aurora was written in boarding school, and literally 100+ students were reading it at once, emoting a lot over it, and that was fascinating that I could bring those expressions on people’s faces and questions on how I did it. Then, Shape of the Sun had almost 5k readers commenting on it as a draft on Wattpad, and that was really enriching to see as an author. So, I think these little things are pivotal to me. 

🏰If you could go anywhere to write your next book, where would that be and why?

I think I would go to a town in Europe with stone buildings and roads. I’m thinking Nice, France, or Albert Camus’ hometown, since I have been there before. I am revising Aurora, and it has a lot of historical elements that envisioning such beautiful, aged places can help with the writing. But I think it's more pressing to go to New York or some other large, fast city and see how service workers live. Hint: I am making notes for a new book, and I’ll say that lead is a service worker in a fast city, at least for now. 

🏰If you had 4 extra hours of extra time today, what would you do?

I think responding to emails and revising Aurora. If this question were to move further this year, it would be something academically inclined, since I am still very much a student.

🏰Why was writing Shape of the Sun so important to you?

In many ways more than one, this is actually my second full-length work after high school. I was worried that being in college and not having the feedback I had in HS would stunt or cripple my writing, but I was able to do this as a busy junior in college and navigate online support, which was cool.  

🏰Any final words?

Shape of the Sun really is the book of reckoning. You have characters that are incredibly self-aware yet consciously unreliable, as well as a storyline that doesn’t shy from heavy material and says it as it is - romance, family saga, inheritance drama, and all. 

🏰 Author Interview Featuring Christine Amsden, Author of 'Knot of Souls'

Christine Amsden is the author of nine award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels, including the Cassie Scot Series.

Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but Christine believes great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. She writes primarily about people, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

In addition to writing, Christine is a freelance editor and political activist. Disability advocacy is of particular interest to her; she has a rare genetic eye condition called Stargardt Macular Degeneration and has been legally blind since the age of eighteen. In her free time, she enjoys role playing, board games, and a good cup of tea. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and two kids.

Author Links

Website ➜https://christineamsden.com/wordpress/

X ➜ http://www.x.com/christineamsden 

Facebook ➜https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664?ref=hl

 

 

🏰Welcome to Book Bloggin’ Princess, Christine. Knot of Souls offers thrills, complex characters and magical moments. Which of these was the most fun for you to write?

Complex characters, always! I'm a proud character girl, and that's at the heart of everything I write. In this case, I've forced two very different characters to work together (by trapping them in the same body) ... one is powerful but doesn't know how to trust, the other is trusting but needs to claim power. Together, they work magic (literally and figuratively). 

🏰Which of the characters from Knot of Souls do you most closely identify with and why?

Joy (the human). At the beginning of the story, she's unassertive, which is something I've struggled with in my own life. Although Shade (the Fae) has trouble trusting, which is something I've also struggled with. 

🏰What do you think sets Knot of Souls apart from other books of the same genre?

I think the situation itself is unique ... body sharing isn't exactly a fantasy trope! Even when I asked around in various fan groups, we mostly came up with Dax from Star Trek and Venom. Plus a one-off episode of Babylon 5. But all of those are science fiction. 

Knot of Souls is urban/contemporary fantasy, with a creatively re-imagined race of Fae, plenty of mystery/thrills, magic, and of course, that beautiful relationship between the souls. 

🏰Surprise me. What is something that happens in the book that would make my mouth drop without giving too much away?

Penguins. 

"We don’t all get to be what we want, or I’d be a penguin." -- Shade, Chapter 28

I actually had a lot of fun with penguins in this book. They're more flavor than plot, making this an entirely spoiler-free thing to share, but I enjoyed David Tennant's narration of  "Penguins: Spy in the Huddle" so much that I watched it twice and used what I learned to add some great details into Knot of Souls.

🏰Who is your favorite contemporary fantasy author? 

Darynda Jones. I've read her Charley Davidson series several times. 

🏰Do you think writing a contemporary fantasy novel is more complex than writing books of other genres?

Honestly, no. I think every genre has its little complications, and at a guess, I'd say historical fiction is the most complex (or at least the genre that requires the most research), but I wouldn't say urban fantasy is more or less complex than most of the others. 

🏰What’s next for you?

I'm working on short stories for a while, but I hope to get back to a novel-length work in progress soon. It’s called The Spaces in Between (working title), and it’s my first attempt at a young adult book, although I confess to having chosen the young adult genre situationally. The thing is, I lost my central vision between the ages of sixteen and eighteen (especially when I was eighteen), and my main character is going through the same thing. Stargardts can affect children as young as ten, and it can take as long as the mid-thirties to culminate, but in my life, in my lived experience, it happened fairly rapidly and mostly over the course of a single year. The book is still fantasy, despite drawing on some real experiences. 

Thanks for having me!

 Knot of Souls is available at Amazon.

🏰 Author Interview Featuring Lindy S. Hudis, Author of 'Crashers'

Lindy S. Hudis is an award winning filmmaker, author and actress. Lindy is a graduate of New York University, where she studied drama at Tisch School of the Arts. She also performed in a number of Off-Off Broadway theater productions while living in New York City.

She is the author of several titles, including her romance suspense novel, Weekends, her “Hollywood” story City of Toys, and her crime novel, Crashers. Her latest release, “Hollywood Underworld – A Hollywood Series” is the first installment of a crime, mystery series.

In addition, she has written several erotic short stories, including “The S&M Club”, “The Backstage Pass”, “Guitar God”, “The Guitarist”, and “The Mile High Club”.

Her short film “The Lesson”, which she wrote, produced and directed, has won numerous awards, including ‘Best Short Film’ at the Paris International Film Festival, The Beverly Hills Arthouse Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival.

She is also an actress, having appeared in the indie film Expressionism, the television daytime drama “Sunset Beach”, also “Married with Children” , “Beverly Hills 90210” and the feature film “Indecent Proposal” . She and her husband, Hollywood stuntman Stephen Hudis, have formed their own production company called Impact Motion Pictures, and have several projects and screenplays in development. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

Author Links  

Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | Goodreads | IMDb | YouTube 

 

🏰Welcome to Book Bloggin’ Princess, Lindy. I’d like to know more about you  as a person first. When did you start writing? What was your first published  piece? 

Well, first I’m a mom of two from Southern California married to a former child  star. I’m constantly busy but I enjoy that. I was always a bit of a bookworm and  that is how I got into

writing. It’s almost magical how you can quite literally  escape to another world by reading a great book. SO, I have loved writing all my  life, but it was always sort of a hobby to me.  

WEEKENDS is my first published book, it’s about an innocent-sounding family  reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder,  deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters. In my words, I wanted  to write a sexy, romantic California story, and transport the reader as much as  possible. I guess I am one of those writers who wants to take the reader away I live  in, and love, California Growing up in Tennessee, California was my dream, a  magical, mystical place that I used to dream about. It is so beautiful, and it is my  inspiration. The beach, the mountains, and all the artistic and creative people…I  could not live anywhere else. All my stories take place here. I guess you could say  that was my inspiration. I wanted to give the reader a romantic beach story, and  there you go.  

My late father-in-law was the English comedy writer Norman Hudis. He wrote for  BBC television writing the “Carry On” series. He also wrote for American  television shows in the 70’s, like Baretta, McMillan & Wife and McCloud. He was  very well respected in the industry, so I valued his opinion very much. Norman  told me I was a “good commercial writer”, and that is all I needed to hear! 

I grew up reading Judy Blume, Jackie Collins and Stephen King. I just fell in love  with reading, and then one day I thought “I can do that” – so I did! I nervously  showed Norman my manuscript for WEEKENDS. I was expecting him to tell me  in his distinguished English accent that I stank, lol. I was wrong, though. He told  me I was a “good commercial writer” and I “had great potential.” That was all I  needed to hear!  

It’s also very interesting that I was a theater major at New York University Tisch  School of the Arts. Having studied drama and having been an actress has greatly  helped me with character development. I find that background is most helpful  when creating a character’s motive, arc and determination.  

🏰As a published author, what has been the most pivotal point of your career? 

After I graduated NYU, I came out to Los Angeles to pursue my acting career in  film and television. I got some work in the early 90’s having appeared on the  television shows Married with Children and Beverly Hills 90210, the feature film  Indecent Proposal and the daytime soap opera Sunset Beach. I also wrote a book  about that experience in Hollywood called City of Toys! Then I went into film  distribution for a little while, then had my babies, then got back into film  production again. Writing has always been a fantasy of mine, so one day I just did  it! My husband and I have also written several screenplays and two are currently in  development with film production companies.  

🏰If you could go anywhere to write your next book, where would that be and  why? 

I’m happy right where I am! Right next to the beach in lovely Santa Monica,  California! 

🏰If you had 4 extra hours of extra time today, what would you do?  

Get to my “to read” list. I have so many books and I need to make time for them.  

🏰Why was writing Crashers so important to you?

The story is set in Los Angeles, California, the only place where this story could  have really taken place. There is SO much drama here, literally and figuratively.  There are so many cars and so much traffic here that driving is almost crazy! I was  inspired to write this story because I was a victim of auto insurance fraud, so I  came up with that idea. I learned that there are criminals out there who do this kind  of thing for a living. So, I wrote about those people, who must be horrible and  desperate.  

🏰Any final words? 

Aspiring authors – Persistence. That is the name of the game. Never give up – don’t do it! If you have a story to tell, then tell it. Don’t get discouraged, and  whatever you do, don’t let the negativity from other people put a damper on your  dreams. Get out there and finish your novel! Write just one page a day if that is all  you have time for but do it! Also, speak with other writer's and try to form a  mentor type of relationship if possible. Norman Hudis had given me wonderful  advice over the years, and he has given me amazing encouragement, too. He was a  fascinating man.  

Crashers is available at Amazon.